The group formed by the legendary Joseph Hill, accompanied by his two acolytes Albert Walker and Kenneth Dayes, delivers an album recorded at Mixing Lab and mixed at the Lion & Fox studio (reference studio for the RAS label) in 1989.

Recorded with 3 brass instruments, bass, drums, keyboards and percussion, it's in the pure roots tradition, with a few interesting dub twists. There's also a tribute to Bob Marley entitled ‘Psalm of Bob Marley’ and the excellent ‘Cousin Rude Boy’.

This is a pure roots album remastered to the highest standards, with a 350g cardboard sleeve showing off the full extent of Mitch Goldberg's graphic design. Never reissued on vinyl since its release, and only once on CD in the 90s.

TRACK LISTING

1. Hand 'A' Bowl
2. Good Things
3. Love Music (Extended)
4. Psalm Of Bob Marley
5. Cousin Rude Boy
6. Youthman Rude (Extended)
7. Righteous Loving
8. Chanting On

Hailing from the Netherlands, Gumnaam blends modern bass and breaks technologies with world music influences, ethereal vocals and a serious level of night club poise. 

Stop-start, half-time drops, frenzied drum work outs, both squelchy and wubbing bass waves - I can see this falling into the record boxes of everyone from Ben UFO and Tim Reaper to Dub Phizix and Chunky.

Top stuff. 

TRACK LISTING

A1 What It Feels Like
A2 Galaxy Track
A3 Passin' By
B1 Work Me Back
B2 Wavetable Hardware
B3 Soulfull Lullaby

DJ Cat comes through on Scruniversal here as the young label continues to go from strength to strength early in its existence. This time he serves up some re-edits and reworks of old and rare records from Scru's friends' collections. Up first is 'Roots & Culture' which is a languid funk workout with Prince style vocals bring some libidinous vibes up top while sci-fi synths and raw claps and perc all flesh out the groove. 'Possibelle' then cuts loose on a much more laid back and steamy summer vibe with the sort of chords that have you laying back in the park and staring up at a cloudless sky.

TRACK LISTING

Roots & Culture
Possibelle

Homosexuality has been a part of post-war popular music since its very inception. Until the early 70s, however, it wasn’t talked about openly in that world: it was coded, hidden, secret. This of course mirrored society - during the 50s and 60s, the gay community felt like outcasts: harassed by the police, demonised by the media and politicians, imprisoned simply for being who they were.

This compilation spans the time before and after Bowie, reflecting both the coded nature about the topic in the 50s and 60s and the greater openness that occurred in the early 70s. It begins in late 1955, with the extraordinary success of Little Richard; continues through early-60s pop and pop art; Tamla and soul, glam rock, the early 70s funk and disco that was played in the underground New York clubs, and then moves on to the omnipresence of disco, in the late 70s.

This double CD compilation is about freedom - and freedom for all. Whilst some of the artists identify as LGBTQ+, then or now, some are included simply because they were played in gay or lesbian clubs — where their lyric or sound proved useful and enjoyable to the patrons - or because they were shaped in some way by the gay aesthetic or gay managers. It’s a love letter to the entwined world of music and sexuality in all its many guises and we hope you enjoy the ride.

TRACK LISTING

Disc One
1. I Hear A New World - Joe Meek & The Blue Men
2. Tutti-Frutti - Little Richard & His Band
3. Esquerita And The Voola - Esquerita
4. Wondrous Place - Billy Fury
5. Strawberry Blonde (The Band Rocked On) - Frank D'rone
6. Foot Stompin' - The Dovells
7. Johnny Remember Me - John Leyton
8. Peppermint Twist (Part 1) – Joey Dee & The Starliters
9. Sally, Go ‘Round The Roses - The Jaynetts
10. You Don't Own Me - Lesley Gore
11. Needle In A Haystack - The Velvelettes
12. Get Down With It - Bobby Marchan
13. I'll Be Your Mirror – The Velvet Underground & Nico
14. Heaven Must Have Sent You - The Elgins
15. Stand Up Straight And Tall - Jackie Shane
16. Women Is Losers – Big Brother & The Holding Company
17. No Stranger Am I - Norma Tanega
18. Pretty Golden Hair - Al Stewart
19. David Watts - The Kinks
20. Nothing But A Heartache - The Flirtations
21. Stand! - Sly & The Family Stone
22. Life & Death In G & A - Abaco Dream
23. Nathan Jones - The Supremes
24. Walk On The Wild Side - Lou Reed
25. Coochi-Coo - Polly Perkins
26. I'm A Man - Jobriath
27. Soul Makossa - Manu Dibango
28. Law Of The Land - The Temptations

Disc Two
1. Get Dancin' Part 1 – Disco Tex & The Sex-O-Lettes Featuring Sir Monti Rock Iii
2. Lady Marmalade - Labelle
3. Nobody's Gonna Change Me – The Dynamic Superiors
4. Ain't Nobody Straight In L.A. - The Miracles
5. I Need A Man (12-Inch Version) - Grace Jones
6. I Feel Love - Patrick Cowley
7. Orgasm Addict - Buzzcocks
8. Fuck Off - Jayne County & The Electric Chairs
9. Glad To Be Gay - Tom Robinson Band
10. I Was Born This Way (12-Inch Version) - Carl Bean
11. Prison (12-Inch Version) - Space
12. Disco Dance (Mega Mix) (12-Inch Version) - Michele
13. I Need Somebody To Love Tonight (12-Inch Version) - Sylvester

Get yourself geared up for summer season with some fierce dancefloor prime time certified with the Groove Culture Deep Stamp. "Deep Into House vol.2" includes some fresh house / deep house actions from Milton Jackson, Sebb Junior, Luca Olivotto and Folkness. Energy, groove, moods and vibes. An essential package for diggers.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: From the rugged houz beats of "6400" to the more fluttery endorphin-rushes of "Love Is Calling Me" via the swung bassline house of "What I Keep"; it's all hitters no shitters from Groove Culture Deep.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Milton Jackson - 6400
A2. Luca Olivotto - Love Is Calling Me
B1. Sebb Junior - What I Keep
B2. Folkness - Alter Ego

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2024 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY APRIL 20TH ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

IF THERE ARE ANY REMAINING COPIES THEY WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT 8PM ON MONDAY APRIL 22ND.

Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Junk Culture; the fifth studio album and one of OMDís most successful and acclaimed records. This limited edition 2LP on blue and purple vinyl consists of the 15 bonus tracks featured on disc 2 of the 2015 deluxe edition, previously only made available on CD. Featuring the B-sides, ëThe Avenueí, ëWrappupí, the re-recorded version of ëJuliaís Songí, as well as 12î versions of original album tracks ëLocomotioní, ëTesla Girlsí and ëTalking Loud And Clearí. Also includes three of the Highland Studios Demos which are new to vinyl. To be cut at half speed on 180g vinyl by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios.

As the lights turn off for 2023 and we move into 2024 Rough Trade shops return with their annual Counter Culture series selection. The LP offers 13 tracks whilst the Double CD a full 35 tracks. All bases covered - from the chaotic party fury of Snooper to the unhinged metal of Pest Control to the beer chucking fun fest that is the Mary Wallopers, this has got everything. You got the Death Grips style Lip Critic, an eleven minute sludge workout from Slift, the future Badu soul of Liv.e and new kids on the black Lifeguard with their unique take on post punk.

As always Rough Trade Shops live and breath new music and this series stands by that.

TRACK LISTING

CD Tracklist:
CD 1
1. Snooper - Running
2. Cari Cari - My Grandma Says We Have No Future
3. The Mary Wallopers - Cod Liver Oil & The Orange Juice
4. Video Age - Away Fromthe Castle
5. Miss Tiny - The Sound
6. GENN - Days And Nights
7. Duvet - Girlcow
8. Cloth - Secret Measure
9. Lifeguard - 17-18 Lovesong
10. Plush - (See It Inthe) Early Morning
11. Plantoid - Wander/Wonder
12. Lip Critic - The Heart
13. Cindy - Why Not Now
14. The Lost Days - For Today
15. Sam Blasucci - Turn Yourself Around
16. Feeble Little Horse - Steamroller
17. Tapir - Untitled

CD2
1. Lynks - Small Talk
2. Red Axes - Hey
3. Jellyskin - Bringer Of Brine
4. Speakers Corner Quartet - 'Can We Do This?' (feat. Sampha)
5. Bawo - Terra Incognita
6. Marta Del Grandi - Snapdragon
7. Big Special - This Here Ain’t Water
8. McKinley Dixon - Run, Run, Run
9. Debby Friday - So Hard To Tell
10. Joshua Idehen - Don’t You Give Up On Me
11. Kara Jackson - Why Does The Earth Give Us People To Love?
12. Sofie Royer - Mio
13. Liv.e - Wild Animals
14. Avalon Emerson - Sandrail Silhouette
15. Moin - No Neck
16. James K - Scorpio
17. Pest Control - Buggin’ Out
18. Slift–Ilion

LP Tracklist:
1. Snooper - Running
2. Big Special - This Here Ain’t Water
3. Moin - No Neck
4. Avalon Emerson - Sandrail Silhouette
5. The Lost Days - For Today
6. Cindy - Why Not Now
7. Tapir - Untitled
8. Sofie Royer - Mio
9. Jellyskin - Bringer Of Brine
10. Red Axes - Hey
11. Lynks - Small Talk
12. Joshua Idehen - Don’t You Give Up On Me
13. Kara Jackson - Why Does The Earth Give Us People To Love?

It might be his debut album, yet Peacey’s “Play It By Ear” is a body of work crafted as though by a scholar. And where better for this work to emerge from than Derby, UK’s Atjazz Record Company, a label with a rich heritage and many strings to its bow?

This eclectic sonic journal catalogues the evolution of Peacey, documenting his interactions with, and influences from, some of dance music’s notable players. It’s an album that will attract discerning ears and open minds; minds attuned to a multitude of genres as it visits Hip Hop, R&B, House, Garage and Fusion.

'Culture Bandit' is the 2nd single taken from this colossal album, and gives us a great understanding that Peacey really knows where to hit it! It’s a deep banger of course, with a hint of tech-house, deep-house and even the more percussive side of afro-latin house, but with the electrifying vocals of Vanessa Hidary atop, this will go down in history as “One of those tunes”. To say this song has life is an understatement. So we’ve covered that, did we mention that Osunlade & Atjazz have also remixed this killer slice? Ah, well they have, and they join Peacey on this pristine release to give alternative angles on this wild, spoken and edgy outing.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Original Mix
B1. Atjazz Remix
B2. Yoruba Soul Mix

First as a journalist and then a publicist at Warner Brothers Records for nearly twenty years, Barbara Charone has experienced, first-hand, the changes in the cultural landscape. Access All Areas is a personal, insightful and humorous memoir packed with stories of being on the cultural frontline, from first writing press releases on a typewriter driven by Tip Ex, then as a press officer for heavy metal bands taking the bus up to Donnington Festival with coffee, croissants and the much more popular sulfate. To taking on Madonna, an unknown girl from Detroit, and telling Smash Hits 'you don't have to run the piece if the single doesn't chart', and becoming a true pioneer in music, Charone continues to work with the biggest names in music, including Depeche Mode, Robert Plant, Foo Fighters and Mark Ronson at her agency MBCPR.

The story of how a music-loving, budding journalist from a Chicago suburb became the defining music publicist of her generation, Access All Areas is a time capsule of the last fifty years, told through the lens of music.

Shabaka Hutchings debut release under his own name, Afrikan Culture, was released on Impulse! Records in May 2022. Known for his globally-acclaimed, groundbreaking groups (Sons of Kemet, The Comet Is Coming, Shabaka and The Ancestors), this release finds Shabaka at a quieter, more meditative space than the pulsing, driving material found in his other groups. The 7-track release is primarily made up of Shabaka on various wind instruments with other complimentary instrumentation sprinkled throughout.

Your annual almanac of the wildest, weirdest and most wonderful hits we'll be jamming to all through 2023. If this crop of Counter Culturists are anything to go by it's going to be one hell of a year. Buy one for yourself, buy one for your nan, buy one for your milkman, buy one for his hamster, there's something for everyone on here.

TRACK LISTING

LP 
Side A
A1. Sessa - Música
A2. Gloria Scott - Promised Land
A3. Anysia Kym Feat Mike - Real Love
A4. Master Peace - Country Life
A5. Suzi Moon - Dumb & In Luv
A6. Hater - I'm Yours Baby
Side B
B1. Sam Burton - Leaving Here Still
B2. Pale Blue Eyes - Chelsea
B3. The Prescriptions - Love Is Red
B4. Saloon Dion - Pressure
B5. Oldboy - Wow
B6. Benefits - Flag

CD 
1. Sessa - Música
2. Gloria Scott - Promised Land
3. Anysia Kym Feat Mike - Real Love
4. Jeshi - National Lottery
5. Master Peace - Country Life
6. Girl Ray - Give Me Your Love  (Version Francaise)
7. Hater - I'm Yours Baby
8. Priestgate - Lucifer
9. Bartees Strange - Daily News
10. Sam Burton - Leaving Here Still
11. MF Tomlinson - The End Of The Road
12. Pale Blue Eyes - Chelsea
13. The Prescriptions - Love Is Red
14. Saloon Dion - Pressure
15. Oldboy - Wow
16. Benefits - Flag
17. Suzi Moon - Dumb & In Luv
18. High Vis - Fever Dream
19. Dazy - Split
20. Ex-vöid - Boyfriend
21. Humour - Yeah! Mud 

Sub- Culture followed Perfect Kiss as the second single to be taken from the Low Life LP. Coming out in October of 1985 it featured a hugely reworked and quite possibly superior remix by engineer John Robie. Everything here is bigger, bolder and basically more dancefloor friendly, WITHOUT compromising the beautiful song as featured on the original. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Andy says: A more aggressive take on one of the standout cuts from 1985's Low Life LP, this mix features souped up electronics and soulful backing vocals. This was massive in Manchester back in the day!

TRACK LISTING

A. Sub-culture 7’26
B. Dub-vulture 7’57

Since the dawn of time, humans have had the urge to come together and move to music. It may have started in caves but these days it happens in clubs often found in the shady corners of our towns and cities. Or at least it did until these places began to march to the beat of property developers rather than DJs. In London in the five years to 2016, half of the clubs were lost while a further quarter have been removed in the devastation of Covid. So what now? At this critical moment, 'Out of Space' plots a course through the spaces and unlikely locations club culture has found a home. From Glasgow to Margate via Manchester, Sheffield and unlikely dance music meccas such as Coalville and Todmorden, it maps the key cities and towns where electronic music has thrived, it currently dances and the spaces it might be headed to next. It explores how urban landscapes have acted as a home for other shades of club music too such as pirate radio, dance music festivals, soundsystem culture and more.

Soul Jazz Records’ new ‘Life Between Islands’ collection is inspired by the launch of Tate Britain’s exhibition of the same name. This landmark exhibition explores the links between Caribbean and British art and culture from the 1950s to now. ‘Soundsystem Culture: Black Musical Expression in the UK 1973-2006’, focuses on the most important Black British musical styles to emerge out of the distinctly Caribbean world of sound systems. The album features an all-star line-up including Dennis Bovell, Shut Up and Dance, Cymande, Digital Mystikz, Brown Sugar, Funk Masters, Janet Kay, Ragga Twins and more.

The album is a lightning-rod journey across Roots Reggae, Jungle , Jazz- Funk, Lovers Rock, Jazz, Dubstep and more. Much of Soul Jazz Records’ catalogue comes out of these genres and this album is partly an overview of some of Soul Jazz’s earlier releases (including Digital Mystikz’ long-deleted groundbreaking and now highly collectible single ‘Misty Winter’) alongside some choice rare and classic tunes that span over 30 years of sound system culture.

Many of the tracks represent how Black British artists defined their own identity, with songs such as Brown Sugar’s righteous ‘Black Pride’, ‘I’m In Love with A Dreadlocks’ and Tabby Cat Kelly’s powerful ‘Don’t Call Us Immigrants’. Aside from being musically rooted in the distinctly Jamaican-born phenomenon of the sound system, much of this identity is also shaped by the triangular relationship of being British-born, of Caribbean heritage, and with an equal love of African-American Jazz, Funk and Soul, as evidenced with many Lovers Rock reggae covers of American soul tunes (such as those of Jean Carn, William de Vaughan and Rose Royce featured here). This stateside influence can also be heard in groups such as the Funk Masters, a group formed by reggae radio DJ Tony Williams, whose jazz-funk music successfully crossed over into New York’s clubland, as well as the great Cymande, whose unique street-funk became staple material for numerous US hip-hop artists in the years that followed.

In the early 1990s, jungle and drum and bass artists took the essence of reggae’s soundsystem culture - MCs, dubplates, crews - and applied them to their own music, applying heavy reggae bass lines to intense double-speed drum breakbeats. At the forefront of this new movement were the duo Shut Up and Dance, working closely with The Ragga Twins, aka Deman Rocker and Flinty Badman, both MCs for North London’s infamous Unity reggae soundsytem. In the early 2000s, dubstep, spearheaded by Digital Mystikz, became the latest instalment in this ever evolving soundsystem culture.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Dang this is good! Skilfully joining the dots of sound system culture from its very beginning till now would seem like a daunting task for anyone. But guided by the Black identity of the majority of Sounds, Soul Jazz offer up a catch-all release that takes us from roots reggae and soul to jungle and dubstep without ever losing sight of the subwoofer. A phenomenal collection which, by way of a few choicely licensed joints ("Misty Winter", "RK1" especially), should be a instant-buy for anyone with a penchant for UK dance music.

TRACK LISTING

Black Slate - Sticks Man
Dee Sharp - Rising To The Top
Asher Senator - One Bible 
Cymande - Fug
Digital Mystikz - Misty Winter
Winston Curtis - Be Thankful For What You’ve Got
Trevor Hartley - It Must Be Love
Shut Up And Dance featuring The Ragga Twins - Java Bass
Brown Sugar - Black Pride
The Terrorist - RK1
Black Harmony - Don’t Let It Go To Your Head
Pebbles - Positive Vibrations
The Ragga Twins - Ragga Trip
Janet Kay And Alton Ellis - Still In Love
Funk Masters - Love Money
Cosmic Idren - Compelled
Harry Beckett - No Time For Hello
Sandra Reid - Ooh Boy
Tabby Cat Kelly - Don’t Call Us Immigrants
Brown Sugar - I’m In Love With A Dreadlocks

Cuba: Music and Revolution: Culture Clash in Havana: Experiments in Latin Music 1975-85 Vol. 2 is the new album compiled by Gilles Peterson and Stuart Baker (Soul Jazz Records) that takes off in exactly the same vein as the much-acclaimed Vol. 1 – exploring the many styles that came out of Cuba in the 1970s as Latin and Salsa mixed with heavy doses of Jazz, Funk, and Disco to create some of the most dancefloor-friendly music ever made!

The album comes as a heavyweight 3xLP and deluxe 2xCD set, complete with extensive sleeve notes, and is jam-packed with heavy bass lines, synth and Wah-Wah guitar funk combined with the heavyweight percussion, powerful brass lines and the all-encompassing Latin rhythms of Cuban music known throughout the world.

Much of the music on this album is featured in the deluxe large format book ‘Cuba: Music and Revolution: Original Cover Art of Cuban Music: Record Sleeve Designs of Revolutionary Cuba 1959-90’, released by Soul Jazz Books and also compiled by Gilles Peterson and Stuart Baker (Soul Jazz Records), featuring the music and record designs of Cuba, made in the 30-year period following the Cuban Revolution.

The music on this new album features a host of rarities from legendary Cuban artists such as Los Van Van, alongside Grupo De Experimentación, Farah Maria, Ricardo Eddy Martinez, Juan Pablo Torres, Grupo Sintesis and Orquesta Riverside, most of whose names remain largely unknown outside of Cuba but have long been favourite club tracks and secret-weapons in Gilles Peterson’s record boxes!

The music on this album reflects the most cutting-edge of Cuban groups that were recording in Cuba in the 1970s and 1980s – all searching for a new Cuban identity and new musical forms reflecting both the Afro-Cuban cultural heritage of a nation that gave birth to Latin music and its new position as a socialist state. Most of the music featured on this album has never been heard outside of Cuba.

Both Gilles Peterson and Stuart Baker have been involved in Cuban music for more than two decades – Gilles Peterson with his many Havana Cultura projects for his Brownswood label and Stuart Baker with a number of Soul Jazz Records albums recorded in Cuba. This Soul Jazz Records album is released in conjunction with Egrem, the Cuban state record company, and has been put together after the many crate-digging trips that both compilers have made on the streets of Havana and beyond in Cuba stretching over a 20-year period, searching out rare and elusive original Cuban vinyl records. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Martin says: Though I've travelled extensively, I've not yet made it to Cuba, but with this great set of Latin grooves I feel it might be my next hunting ground.

TRACK LISTING

CD1
1. Juan Pablo Torres Y Algo Nuevo - Y Que Bien (4.24)
2. Orquesta Los Van Van - Por Que Lo Haces? (4.10)
3. Los Latinos - Quemando (2.46)
4. Farah María - Amame Y No Pienses Mas (4.13)
5. FA 5 - Muevete Con Las Fuerzas Del Corazon (5.53)
6. Tambores De Enrique Bonne - Como Arrullos De Palma (2.47)
7. Ricardo Eddy Martinez - Expresso Ritmico (4.11)
8. Los Papines - Solo De Tumba Y Bongo (5.31)
9. Grupo Sintesis - Aqui Estamos (2.31)
10. Los Van Van - Llegada (2.08)
11. Grupo Raices Nuevas - Baila Mi Guaguancó (5.02)

CD2
1. Luis Carbonell - La Rumba (3.53)
2. Orquesta Riverside - En Casa Del Trompo No Bailes (3.02)
3. Juan Formel & Los Van Van - Llegue, Llegue (5.51)
4. Grupo Los Yoyi - Tu No Me Puedes Conquistar (3.09)
5. Los Papines - Para Que Niegas? (4.23)
6. Grupo De Experimentación Sonora Del ICAIC - Cuba Va! (3.06)
7. Raul Gomez - Luces En La Pista (4.40)
8. Los Brito - El 4-5-6 (2.50)
9. Leo Brouwer - Tema De El Rancheador De La Naturaleza (1.37)
10. Ricardo Eddy Martinez - La 132 (4.23)
11. Los Reyes 73 - Finalizo Un Amor (3.37)

A
1. Juan Pablo Torres Y Algo Nuevo - Y Que Bien (4.24)
2. Orquesta Los Van Van - Por Que Lo Haces? (4.10)
3. Los Latinos - Quemando (2.46)
4. Farah María - Amame Y No Pienses Mas (4.13)

B
1. FA 5 - Muevete Con Las Fuerzas Del Corazon (5.53)
2. Tambores De Enrique Bonne - Como Arrullos De Palma (2.47)
3. Ricardo Eddy Martinez - Expresso Ritmico (4.11)

C
1. Los Papines - Solo De Tumba Y Bongo (5.31)
2. Grupo Sintesis - Aqui Estamos (2.31)
3. Los Van Van - Llegada (2.08)
4. Grupo Raices Nuevas - Baila Mi Guaguancó (5.02)

D
1. Luis Carbonell - La Rumba (3.53)
2. Orquesta Riverside - En Casa Del Trompo No Bailes (3.02)
3. Juan Formel & Los Van Van - Llegue, Llegue (5.51)

E
1. Grupo Los Yoyi - Tu No Me Puedes Conquistar (3.09)
2. Los Papines - Para Que Niegas? (4.23)
3. Grupo De Experimentación Sonora Del ICAIC - Cuba Va! (3.06)
4. Raul Gomez - Luces En La Pista (4.40)

F
1. Los Brito - El 4-5-6 (2.50)
2. Leo Brouwer - Tema De El Rancheador De La Naturaleza (1.37)
3. Ricardo Eddy Martinez - La 132 (4.23)
4. Los Reyes 73 - Finalizo Un Amor (3.37)

‘Cuba: Music and Revolution’ is a new album compiled by Gilles Peterson and Stuart Baker (Soul Jazz Records) that explores the many new styles that emerged in Cuba in the 1970s as Jazz, Funk, Brazilian Tropicalia and even Disco mixed together with Latin and Salsa on the island as Cuban artists experimented with new musical forms created in the unique socialist state of Cuba. The album comes as a deluxe double CD and heavyweight triple vinyl, complete with extensive sleeve notes, jam-packed with heavy basslines, synth and WahWah guitar funk combined with the heavyweight percussion, powerful brass lines and the all-encompassing Latin rhythms of Cuban music known throughout the world.

The album is released to coincide with the massive new deluxe large format book ‘Cuba: Music and Revolution: Original Cover Art of Cuban Music: Record Sleeve Designs of Revolutionary Cuba 1959-90’, which is also compiled by Gilles Peterson and Stuart Baker (Soul Jazz Records) and which features the music and record designs of Cuba, made in the 30-year period following the Cuban Revolution. The music on this album features legendary Cuban groups such as Irakere, Los Van Van and Pablo Milanés, as well as a host of lesser known artists such as the radical Grupo De Experimentación, Juan Pablo Torres and Algo Nuevo, Grupo Monumental and Orquesta Ritmo Oriental, groups whose names remain largely unknown outside of Cuba owing to the now 60-year old US trade embargo which remains in place today and which prevents trade with Cuba - and thus most Cuban records were only ever available in Cuba or in ex-Soviet Union states.

The music on this album reflects the most cutting-edge of Cuban groups that were recording in Cuba in the 1970s and 1980s - who were all searching for a new Cuban identity and new musical forms that reflected both the Afro-Cuban cultural heritage of a nation that gave birth to Latin music - and its new position as a socialist state. Most of the music featured on this album has never been heard outside of Cuba. Both Gilles Peterson and Stuart Baker have been involved in Cuban music for more than two decades - Gilles Peterson with his many Havana Cultura projects for his Brownswood label and Stuart Baker with a number of Soul Jazz Records albums recorded in Cuba. This Soul Jazz Records album is released in conjunction with Egrem, the Cuban state record company, and has been put together after the many crate-digging trips that both compilers have made on the streets of Havana and beyond in Cuba stretching over a 20-year period, searching out rare and elusive original Cuban vinyl records.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Following on from *that* gorgeous book with all of the beauty in it is the musical collection of the same. Compiled by some of the greatest selectors around on the scene, this is a fascinating and superb collection of groovers, shakers and under-appreciated heavy hitters.

TRACK LISTING

Grupo Irakere - Chequere Son
Conjunto Rumbavana - El Son Del Campeon
Juan Formell & Los Van Van - Mi Ritmo Caliente
Grupo Monumental - Mi Son Caridad
Grupo De Experimentación Sonora Del ICAIC - Sondeando
Las D'Aida - Con Cadencia Y Con Dulzura
Juan Formell & Los Van Van - Y No Le Conviene
Pablo Milanés - Te Quiero Porque Te Quiero
Emíliano Salvador - Luna Wanestain
Los Reyes 73 - Un Lamento Hecho Cancion
Eduardo Ramos - Vocación Revolución
Grupo Mounmental - Hasta Las Cuantas
Los 5 U 4 - Solo Esta Musica
Grupo De Experimentación Sonora Del ICAIC - Canción Con Todos
Orquesta Los Van Van - Yo Se Que Van Van
Grupo Mounmental - Nadie Se Siente Cansado
Orquesta Ritmo Oriental - Maria, Baila El Son
Juan Pablo Torres Y Algo Nuevo - Rompe Cocorioco
Los Reyes 73 - Grandes Amigos
Paquito D'Rivera - La Patica
Grupo De Experimentación Sonora Del ICAIC - Grifo
Raúl Gómez - Dacapo
Grupo Irakere - Juana 1600

"Greg Hates Car Culture" was Venetian Snares' first ever vinyl release. Long out of print, it came out in 1999, as the third release on Minneapolis label History Of The Future. Aaron Funk's hallmarks were there from the start. His absurdist sense of humour, the razor sharp edits and his use of odd time-signatures. There is a rawness here, not often captured on later records, where you can imagine Aaron playing live in front of a room full of young breakcore fanatics. Indeed most of the tracks here were recorded live, tweaking his effects and EQ on the fly, to DAT from his Amiga. The album opens with "Personal Discourse", recorded in 1997, which samples Aaron calling into a Dominatrix live on community cable TV, while "Fuck A Stranger In The Ass" samples from the film The Big Lebowski. The track "Aqap" has a different sound to the others having been recorded later, in 1998, on Aaron's first PC. We have also added three hitherto unreleased 1997 tracks to this reissue. Two of them "Eating America.." and "Punk Kids" appeared on Venetian Snares rare self-released 1998 cassette "Spells" and the long sought after "Milk" was only passed around by his friends. "Greg Hates Car Culture" lets you hear the raw energy of a musician at the birth of his sound.

TRACK LISTING

01/ Personal Discourse
02/ Like Tooth Decay
03/ Fuck A Stranger In The Ass
04/ Point Blank
05/ Boiled Angel
06/ Cricket Spine Bin
07/ Aqap
08/ Milk
09/ Eating America With Pointed Dentures
10/ Punk Kids

Kiran Leonard is a 22 year old musician from Saddleworth, Greater Manchester. Debut album proper Bowler Hat Soup (2014) and follow-up Grapefruit (2016) were both recorded at home, with Kiran playing virtually every instrument himself. Dervaun Seraun (2017), a concept album in five movements inspired by five pieces of literature and arranged for piano, strings and voice, was an ambitious departure from his usual sound.

Western Culture now sees him return to the signature sound of his first two records, yet marks a huge sonic progression thanks to the involvement of his venerable live band on record for the first time, as well as being the first to have been made in a professional studio (Old Granada Studios in central Manchester). Please read on for Kiran's statement on the record, discussing the themes within.

I like the phrase “WESTERN CULTURE” very much because it is a resounding clang from a hollow vessel, connoting so much (grandeur; authority; hostility) without possessing a concrete meaning in of itself. What does ‘western culture’ consist of? This question changes shape depending on who is speaking: e.g., ’culture’ is constantly evolving and autonomous, rapidly reacting to and altering the present in which it unfolds, but is simultaneously regarded as something static and possessed, corresponding roughly to ‘tradition’ or ‘heritage’, something people can call on when the world seems precarious and alien and antagonistic. And so very often when we talk about culture, we reveal our personal conceptions of world events and of what is to be done.

"“WESTERN CULTURE” — these heavy phrases without substance are of great importance because they are easily manipulatable agents with the potential to sustain great impact on the real world. Not every issue stems from language, and sometimes we allow our discourses to replace real things, which belittles violence and misunderstands the very real violence that phrases inflict. But I wanted to write about the relationship between the two, and show how a lot of very real brutality is distorted and justified by how we choose to depict it.

"In part, then, it is a response to brutality. We seem inundated by a brutality beyond our comprehension: the kind of nationalisms and capital, and the brutality of not knowing. The latter is particularly damaging because it is so difficult to oppose what you can’t understand/articulate. I wrote this record about all this not because I wanted the real world to be eclipsed (that is; I didn’t want to self-absorbedly change a problem of violence into one of self-expression) but because I don’t understand any of this, and the struggle to depict the world and lived experience in a more truthful way is waged discursively.

"Process of understanding; process of recognising perspectives beyond your own, and the historical, political forces of imbalance that engender them. I am interested in where songs might fit into all this; I think that it might be a valid means of approaching an articulation of violence, but I also suspect there is something totally absurd about the whole venture."

TRACK LISTING

1. The Universe Out There Knows No Smile
2. Paralysed Force
3. Working People
4. An Easel
5. Legacy Of Neglect
6. Now Then
7. Unreflective Life
8. Shuddering Instance
9. Exactitude And Science
10. Suspension 

Platinum selling indie-rock heroes Razorlight are set to make a triumphant return with "Olympus Sleeping", the band's first album in ten years. The record sees lead-singer and songwriter Johnny Borrell in top form, dishing up instant classics like the insanely catchy "Carry Yourself" or the album's lead single "Olympus Sleeping".

TRACK LISTING

Got To Let The Good Times Back Into Your Life
Razorchild
Brighton Pier
Good Night
Carry Yourself
Japanrock
Midsummer Girl
Iceman
Sorry?
Olympus Sleeping
No Answers
City Of Women

Wavves and Culture Abuse have joined forces for a new single - ’Big Cloud’. The song follows the two bands hitting the road with Joyce Manor for a US tour last year, which has already resulted in a track called ’Up and Down’. Hailing from the Bay Area, Culture Abuse signed to Epitaph Records earlier this year. The band formed in 2013, releasing their debut album Peach in late 2016. Infusing its distortion-heavy garage punk with keyboard melodies and the occasional string arrangement, Peach fully embodies the Culture Abuse mission of “being free, enjoying life, and sharing love.” Culture Abuse is planning to release new music this year and will tour this spring with Turnstile and Touche Amore. WAVVES’ sixth album You’re Welcome arrived in 2017 on Ghost Ramp. It was praised by the AV Club as “Wavves’ finest moment to date.” Throughout the album, WAVVES singer/songwriter Nathan Williams explores his obsessions with everything from doo-wop to Cambodian pop to South American psychedelia.

Thoma Bulwer returns with "Jandaze", his latest EP on Parasol Culture featuring long-time partner in crime Anna Wall. It follows Parasol 001, their first joint vinyl release, that sold out on the shelves gaining support from the likes of Mood II Swing and Cab Drivers plus on the airwaves via NTS. Their "Jandaze" EP has already been doing the rounds on the DJ circuit in Hackney Wick and beyond.

"Patience" was the result of a late night jam session with sync boxes, groove benders and the classic TR-909. After much fine-tuning, it’s been tried and tested by Cinthie on her recent Australia tour and is set to be a staple club cut for this summer.

Although "Insouciant" means a casual lack of concert, a lot of work went into making this one tick. It’s the most laid-back of the bunch, with Smallville-esque Juno 106 melodies perfect for the afterparty or warm up session. This goes out to the post-NYD loft party crew in The Wick where it was played for the first time. Try pronouncing this one at 7am in the morning…

"Fridge Speed" is a minimal house cut influenced by Thoma’s garage roots. Think rudely placed analogue synth stab melodies, ‘tuff’ skippy drums and big subs ideal for early hours and the capital's penchant for upfront house tackle.

"Egress" was made with long jam takes from Thoma’s modular system. Deep, dubby beats, evolving synths and textures make up this track that’s been road-tested on the world famous Fabric Room 1 sound system by Voigtmann in his extended set before Ricardo Villalobos.

Current support comes from Maya Jane Coles, Archie Hamilton Franck, Roger, Cinthie, Voigtmann, John Dimas. 

TRACK LISTING

A1. Thoma Bulwer & Anna Wall – Patience
A2. Thoma Bulwer & Anna Wall - Insouciant
B1. Thoma Bulwer - Fridge Speed
B2. Thoma Bulwer - Egress

The concept is the same as our yearly Counter Culture compilations, however we aim to give you a taste of what we're loving throughout the year, rather than just annually. Volume 1 features 4 female fronted bands that we LOVE. First up on Side A is London's Big Moon with That Looks Nice which is on vinyl for the first time and is an uptempo gem which twists and turns at every corner and is as good as Elastica in their prime. Next up are Our Girl (who conveniently are fronted by Big Moon member Soph Nathan) with a Ty Segall cover. They take Sad Fuzz and give it a neat lo-fi reworking and make it sound like a female fronted version of the Libertines. Side B starts with another London based band, Girl Ray with the aural confection cut Stupid things which is part Carly Simon and Part Dolly Mixture. Whilst Baltimore-based trio Snail Mail end proceedings with the excellent track Thinning which was originally released on tape by Sister Polygon Records. It oozes emotion and despair and we have not heard anything this instant since the early Best Coast and Veronica Falls singles.

TRACK LISTING

A1) Big Moon - That Looks Nice
A2) Our Girl - Sad Fuzz (Ty Segall Cover)
B1) Girl Ray - Stupid Things
B2) Snail Mail - Thinning

Soul Jazz Records are releasing a new 2017 edition of their classic album ‘Dancehall: The Rise Of Jamaican Dancehall Culture’. This long-out-of-print collection is now available as a double CD and triple vinyl. The album is a lightning-flash collection of all-time classic and definitive dancehall classics as well as a stellar selection of more obscure tracks. Featuring Yellowman, Tenor Saw, Sister Nancy, Ini Kamoze, Chaka Demus & Pliers, Michigan & Smiley, Super Cat, Cutty Ranks, Eek-A-Mouse, Gregory Isaacs and more, this album features non-stop floor-filling party tune rockers throughout. ‘Dancehall’ is released to coincide with the new 2017 edition of the stunning 400+ photos deluxe coffee table book ‘Dancehall: The Rise Of Jamaican Dancehall Culture’, featuring Beth Lesser’s amazing ‘Dancehall’ photography (also newly published by Soul Jazz Records). This book has become the definitive cultural reference book for Jamaican dancehall and features hundreds of killer photographs, extensive text and interviews with many of the artists. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Patrick says: Soul Jazz can always be relied upon to pack a comp full of heat, and this dancehall collection has all the greats on here. Yellowman, Sister Nancy, Ini Kamoze, Super Cat – you name ‘em, they’re on here. Plus, we get “Murder She Wrote”. Mega!

TRACK LISTING

Yellowman - Bam Bam
Tenor Saw - Pumpkin Belly
Reggie Stepper - Cu Oonuh
Chaka Demus And Pliers - Murder She Wrote
Pinchers - Agony
Michigan & Smiley - Diseases (3.31)
Ini Kamoze - World A Music
Junior Murvin - Cool Out Son
General Echo - Arleen
Cornel Campbell - Boxing
Cutty Ranks - Chop Chop
Lone Ranger - M16
Super Cat - Trash And Ready
Gregory Isaacs - Soon Forward
Jacob Miller & Trinity - I'm Just A Dread / One Shut
Eek A Mouse - Wa Do Dem
Sister Nancy - Only Woman DJ With Degree
Trinity - Uptown Girl
General Echo - Track Shoes
Cornel Campbell - Mash You Down
Horace Ferguson - Sensi Addict
Clint Eastwood - Jump And Pawn

After a brief hiatus Flash Forward returns with more classics from the golden years of Italian house music. A timeless masterpiece produced by Ricky Persi and mixed by DJ Fabrice and Paul Martini in 1991, "I Can Feel It" perfectly juxtaposes dreamy ambience with direct beats - a combo that would become synonymous with the style throughout years to come. Further embellished with a killer vocal hook, this is unadulterated deep house pleasure at its best. Out of press for years and highly sought after by DJs and collectors alike, don't miss out on this fully legit, beautifully pressed re-issue. 

TRACK LISTING

I Can Feel It Pt 1
I Can Feel It Pt 2

40th anniversary edition of the classic ‘Two Sevens Clash’ album now expanded with a second disc of 12” disco mixes, DJ cuts and dubs. "Two Sevens Clash" from Culture was the must-have reggae accessory for any self-respecting music fan back in that long hot summer of ‘77. Loaded up with hit anthems like “See Them A Come”, “I Am Not Ashamed”, “Natty Dread Taking Over” and the prophetic title track. "Two Sevens Clash" remains the defining album statement of the year that reggae crossed over.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Calling Rasta For I
A2. I'm Alone In The Wilderness
A3. Pirate Days
A4. Two Sevens Clash
A5. I'm Not Ashamed
B1. Get Ready To Ride The Lion To Zion
B2. Black Starliner Must Come
B3. Jah Pretty Face
B4. See Them A Come
B5. Natty Dread Taking Over
C1. Two Sevens Clash / Prophecy Revealed (feat. Mr Bojangles)
C2. Fulfillment - The Mighty Two
D1. I'm Not Ashamed / Under Tight Wraps (feat. I Roy)
D2. I Am Not Ashamed (Version) - The Mighty Two
E1. See Them A Come / Mask Mi Mask (feat. Prince Weedy)
E2. Informer
E3. Informer (Version) - The Mighty Two
E4. State Of Emergncy - Joe Gibbs & The Professionals
E5. Natty Pass His GCE - Shorty The President
F1. Natty Dread Taking Over / Invasion (feat. I Roy)
F2. Natty Gone Clear - Joe Gibbs & The Professionals

The world of Pure Bathing Culture is not the real world. It’s a world filled with characters like Scotty and The Bubble King and a place called The Ivory Coast that’s not the real Ivory Coast. It’s also a world created for its protagonists, Sarah Versprille and Daniel Hindman, to travel to communicate abstract thought and remember all the things they want to remember. It’s a place where the night is magic and it will transform you.

In the humdrum everyday world, the corporal version of Pure Bathing Culture has for the last few years been growing naturally and at a steady pace. However new album ‘Pray For Rain’ sees them make an evolutionary leap, taking their finely honed metaphysical pop to a new level.

You can hear it in the opening notes of their anthemic title track: in Hindman’s clean yet serpentine guitar lines interacting with the live rhythm section and Versprille’s lucid vocals cutting through it all as she asks: “Is it pleasure? Is it pain? Did you pray for rain?” You can hear it in the sweet pop perfection of ‘Clover’ and the trembling beauty of ‘She Shakes’, a story of two fantasy characters from different worlds being brought to an intense, fragile state through the experience of falling in love.

When it came time to write and record the follow-up to last year’s ‘Moon Tides’, the duo knew what they didn’t want. “We didn’t gravitate towards someone making indie dream-pop records,” Dan said. That was when producer John Congleton (St. Vincent, Swans, Angel Olsen, The Walkmen) reached out to the band and invited them to come record with him in his Dallas, TX studio.

It was a taxing yet ultimately rewarding experience when the album was completed. “It was shocking to hear what the finished product was,” Sarah said. “It was like being in a vortex and then we came out with this record.” She adds with a laugh something John Congleton told her when all was said and done: “You were very brave.”

‘Pray For Rain’ is the sound of Pure Bathing Culture transforming from who they were to who they will be, of finding their way, ready to take steps both small and momentous on their musical path.

STAFF COMMENTS

Andy says: Gently persuasive synth'n'guitar pop chimes, prettily topped with Sarah Versprille's engaging vocals. Gorgeous.

Over the last year, London-based East India Youth has combined strikingly original music with euphoric live performances and has quickly become recognised as one of the most experimental and captivating artists around.

Here he delivers brand new album, titled ‘Culture Of Volume’; his first since signing to XL Recordings. The record follows his critically acclaimed debut album ‘Total Strife Forever’ (released in January 2014 on Stolen Records) that went on to be nominated for the Mercury Prize.

‘Culture Of Volume’ opens with the synth sweep of instrumental track 'The Juddering', which does indeed judder. It then switches tack to 'End Result', an emotive, melancholic number featuring live instrumentation. 'Beaming White' and 'Turn Away', while 'Hearts That Never' and 'Entirety' head to the peak-time dancefloor with 90s rave beats, fidgeting keyboard lines and a touch of an unrelenting Underworld feel to it. Wearing its heart on its sleeve, solo vocal / synth number 'Carousel' sounds like a number U2 should have written for the Spiderman musical, but didn't. Firing up the club rhythms again, jittery 2-stepping drum & bass-ish cut 'Don’t Look Backwards' is catchy pop with fancy footwork. The album closes with the sparkling machine-pop of 'Manner Of Words' and 'Montage Resolution', which, like 'The Juddering', does exactly what it says on the tin. 

Mostly recorded and produced in his bedroom at home in London and named after a fragment of verse from the poem ‘Monument’ by Rick Holland, ‘Culture Of Volume’ was mixed by Graham Sutton (Bark Psychosis, Boymerang) and the artwork was created by visual artist Dan Tombs (inspired by Andy Warhol’s experiments with computer technology).

It's a rare and beautiful thing when a band emerges fully formed, but it makes perfect sense in the case of guitarist Daniel Hindman and keyboardist Sarah Versprille’s Pure Bathing Culture. Having backed folk rock revisionist Andy Cabic in Vetiver, the New Yorkers partnered up and moved west in 2011, settling in Portland, Oregon.

In a short time the duo have created a sound that is undeniably their own: soaring synths, chiming keyboards, and shimmering electric guitars move in lockstep with bouncing drum machines, with Sarah’s crystalline voice floating on top of it all with divine purpose. It’s a sound that looks back momentarily for inspiration - Talk Talk, Prefab Sprout, Cocteau Twins - but then fixes its gaze firmly on the present.

Further developing the sound of their acclaimed four song, self-titled 2012 EP, at the start of 2013 they set out to record ‘Moon Tides’, their first full length album. Again, they chose to work with producer Richard Swift at his National Freedom studio in rural Cottage Grove, Oregon. Throughout 2012 Swift had called on the duo to help him with other studio projects (Versprille sings on Foxygen’s latest album and Hindman adds his sprawling guitar work to Damien Jurado’s excellent ‘Marqopa’) which only helped to cement the threesome’s musical partnership.

Like the earlier sessions for the EP, they worked quickly in the studio and improvised parts around the basic song structures that they’d carefully composed up in Portland. Dan explains, “Pretty much all tracks (vocals and instruments) are all first or very early takes. Richard is kind of a stickler about this and I actually don't go in with a clean, pristine idea of what I'm going to play on guitar or any other instrument for that matter, so there's actually a lot of improvisation as far as performances in the studio go.”

It’s this compassion and warmth in Pure Bathing Culture that set them apart. The music is uplifting. It invites self-reflection. It never feels alienating. ‘Pendulum’ is a perfect mid-tempo album opener that pulses and shines. Other standout tracks from the album - ‘Dream The Dare’, ‘Twins’, ‘Scotty’ and ‘Golden Girl’ - are slices of reverb-drenched, soulful, danceable electropop that musically and lyrically tap into an introspective worship of the natural and psychic mysteries that surround us.

Pure Bathing Culture’s debut album Moon Tides is optimistic modern music for souls who seek to explore the infinite.

STAFF COMMENTS

Andy says: Gorgeous dream-pop for fans of Beach House and the like. Perfect for the summer.

TRACK LISTING

Pendulum
Dream The Dare
Evergreener
Twins
Only Lonely Lovers
Scotty
Seven 2 One
Golden Girl
Temples Of The Moon

This groundbreaking project is trail-blazing the collaboration between dubstep and hip-hop, with stomach-pounding, bass-thumping guttural beats, and gully, gritty and grimy lyrics that break into the next decade in the chapters of each respective genre’s history. With Scuba, Parson, Trillbass, Dakimh, DZ, Rogue Star, Stenchman, Datsik & many more producing not remixes, but complex reinterpollations that include a veritable goldmine of Wu-Tang verses from the vaults that feature Raekwon, Ghostface Killa, RZA, GZA, Method Man, U-God & Masta Killa, Wu affiliates Killah Priest, Bronze Nazareth, Prodigal Sunn, Solomon Childs, Son One & more, and guest spots from Busta Rhymes, MF Doom, Pimp C, Three 6 Mafia, Ras Kass, Vast Aire, Canibus, Lord Jamar & many more, this one of a kind compilation is at the forefront of an emerging cultural and musical blend that is taking place on the margins of the mainstream, but will be talked about for years to come….

TRACK LISTING

A1. Method Man & U God – Love Don’t Cost (A Thing) Still Grimey Featuring Icewater, Method Man, U-God & Prodigal Sunn (Nebulla & Dore Remix)
A2. Method Man & U God – New Year Banga Featuring Bronze Nazareth, Kevlaar 7 & Phillie (Rogue Star Remix)
B1. Raekwon & Three 6 Mafia – Iconoclasts Featuring Bronze Nazareth, Killa Priest & Vast Aire (Syndaesia An Aks Extended Remix)
B2. Raekwon & Three 6 Mafia – Alphabets (Dakimh Instrumental Remix)

2Mex of the Visionaries goes solo on a boundary bustin' mission. Featuring guest appearances from Busdriver and Jean Grae plus a varied production palette with SA-RA Creative Partners, Babu, Subtitle, KeyKool and plenty others, the scope is exceedingly diverse.

Moral Crux remain one of the most underrated groups on the underground punk scene today. Their brand of politically aware pop punk is honest and direct and is the way punk rock is meant to be. Now on Panic Button / Lookout Records.

This 1977 album is a CLASSIC vocal harmony trio roots set, produced and arranged by Errol Thompson and Joe Gibbs. Seasoned session players like Sly & Robbie, Lloyd Parks, Sticky, Vin Gordon, Tommy McCook and Bobby Ellis lay down mostly upbeat rockers backing tracks, while Joseph Hill, Albert Walker and Kenneth Dayes serve up distinctive vocals. Gets the 'Essential' thumbs-up in the Rough Guide To Reggae!!